Why vapers are never satisfied: A Theory.

[The Ocelot]

It's pretty endearing when he gets all giggly, stops talking and just stares at what ever new vapin' wonderment is in his hands. No pretense at all... love the guy.

I do too That review was genuinely heartfelt.

 

[ScottP]

For me it has nothing to do with not being satisfied. My first little automatic cig-a-like got me off of analogs 100% by itself. I could have been happy there indefinitely. Then I found ECF and well...I was given the impression that my device sucked and I had no idea what I was missing. So then I got an eGo battery and a Vivi Nova and I was and still am happy with that. However, now I know too much. I have learned that I can rebuild coils and play with different wicks and such. So I got an iTaste SVD and have a new RBA tank coming in the mail.

Now for a bit of history. I started taking apart anything held together with screws when I was 5. By the time I was 7, I was hooked on dissecting electronics specifically to figure out how they worked. Well the story escalates from there and I won't bore you with all of the details. needless to say I was, am, and always will be a tinkerer. Today I am the guy who still works on his own car for the most part. I have rebuilt or repaired nearly every appliance in my house. I have built computers from parts, and I even develop in a couple of different programming languages. I do enjoy vaping, but I love tearing things apart and putting them back together just as much, so combining the two was well...a no brainer. In the spirit of combining hobbies, I even developed an Android app to help with the calculations needed build coils. See my signature for details.

 

[Maggiemw]

I do too That review was genuinely heartfelt.

His review is what really, really made me order mine. He's so right on about the Aurora. Absolutely right on. It's great fun.

The only reason I'm using mine sparingly for the moment is that nobody has any spare parts for it yet. So if something breaks or gets lost...ugh, I don't want to think about it.

 

[State O' Flux]

His review is what really, really made me order mine. He's so right on about the Aurora. Absolutely right on. It's great fun.

The only reason I'm using mine sparingly for the moment is that nobody has any spare parts for it yet. So if something breaks or gets lost...ugh, I don't want to think about it.

Perhaps you should have a chat with "Vwls"... she seems to be having nothing but trouble with her Aurora.

 

[Maggiemw]

Perhaps you should have a chat with "Vwls"... she seems to be having nothing but trouble with her Aurora.

Good idea!

 

[Vapolith]

He looked about ready to weep with joy over the Aurora.

Ha! Yes, indeed!

 

[UntamedRose]

I gotta disagree with the general premise here.


This is all a personal thing...but I go Years between buying a new mod. Heck it was my OMG I havnt bought a mod in a Year! anniversary that made me lookin into getting another. Have stuck to to the same few venders for years. ejuice comes from two venders....though I supplement with a lot DIY.

Now my first six month to a year...OMG i was all over........but the past two years not so much.

 

[Ryedan]

This is mostly conjecture, I am neither a medical doctor nor a mental health professional. But I think there may be some psychological basis which may explain the behaviour of many vapers (including myself) at least on a subconscious level.

Those of us who are ex-smokers (which is likely the majority) are simply not being satisfied by e-cigs. Let me explain:

IMO it's not that we are not being satisfied by e-cigs.

ECF is a group of vaping enthusiasts made up of a very small percentage of the vapers in the world. Visit forums on other topics like photography, cars or gaming and you will find pretty much the same situation. A group of enthusiasts discussing hardware and methods. They are also looking for more, better and shinier. It's definitely not a vaping thing only.

 

[Big Screen D]

The thing is, you are equating "vapers" with people who read ECF.

I know 3 others who vape personally. They vape cig-a-likes they get at the local gas station and are perfectly happy.

When I started vaping, I started with an NJOY I bought locally, it was horribly overpriced, but I did not know any better and thus was happy.

Then I read ECF - I discovered I had been had - learned a lot - bought a lot - was never satisfied.

Then I became involved in other things, and for 2 year stopped reading ECF. During those 2 years I still vaped, a ego 650 passthrough with smoktech dual coil cartomizers (which had just come out about the time I stopped reading ECF). I was very happy with them, I had no desire for anything else. Since I vape unflavored, I figured my spending for my vaping habit was less then $3 a week for those 2 years.

Lately I have stated reading ECF again, I have bought a couple of mods, and a few new and clearos and tanks, and my vaping spending has gone up again.

People who spend time reading this forum are of two types, people who are new to vaping, and people who make a hobby out of vaping. The vaping hobbyist behave no different then other hobbyist, they spend a lot of time and energy on their hobby.

Most of the new people will settle on something they like, and maybe pop in every few months to see if there is anything new they want to buy, but only a few of us will behave in the obsessive way you describe. We hobbyist are only a small fraction of the people who vape.

Me thinks you have hit the nail squarely on the head. And I might add, it is we hobbyist that have helped drive the very innovations that become the next big thing.

 

[Arnie H]

Up is good, right? Up in size, up in voltage, up in mah, up in features and price.
With subohm, down is still up.

Very true, although I would not consider PRICE as one of the things we would like to see go up. Not me anyway. Ha. ha. When it comes to price, down is much more preferable and makes vaping accessible to more people.

 

[Arnie H]

The thing is, you are equating "vapers" with people who read ECF.

I know 3 others who vape personally. They vape cig-a-likes they get at the local gas station and are perfectly happy.

When I started vaping, I started with an NJOY I bought locally, it was horribly overpriced, but I did not know any better and thus was happy.

Then I read ECF - I discovered I had been had - learned a lot - bought a lot - was never satisfied.

Then I became involved in other things, and for 2 year stopped reading ECF. During those 2 years I still vaped, a ego 650 passthrough with smoktech dual coil cartomizers (which had just come out about the time I stopped reading ECF). I was very happy with them, I had no desire for anything else. Since I vape unflavored, I figured my spending for my vaping habit was less then $3 a week for those 2 years.

Lately I have stated reading ECF again, I have bought a couple of mods, and a few new and clearos and tanks, and my vaping spending has gone up again.

People who spend time reading this forum are of two types, people who are new to vaping, and people who make a hobby out of vaping. The vaping hobbyist behave no different then other hobbyist, they spend a lot of time and energy on their hobby.

Most of the new people will settle on something they like, and maybe pop in every few months to see if there is anything new they want to buy, but only a few of us will behave in the obsessive way you describe. We hobbyist are only a small fraction of the people who vape.

I am not certain that ECF is solely to blame for this phenomenon, although it may play a role. As another poster mentioned, smokers addictive personalities may be somewhat responsible.

 

[Arnie H]

Huh, less satisfied than with smoking? I haven't been hearing that so very often from people in here. I'm much more satisfied with vaping than I ever was with cigarettes. The constant stream of new toys and juices that give rise to itchy desires is just an extra perc, it's fun. Not connected to trying unsuccessfully to replace the drab, smelly, one-dimensional and mirthless habit that was smoking. That was taken care of long ago, first week of vaping.

I switched from coffee to tea fairly recently. It's not that I don't like coffee. But tea is healthier and I thought I'd seriously check it out. Same deal - initially I was just pleased that once I got the right stuff it woke me up, did the job and was very pleasing. Easy good-bye to joe, a total surprise. BUT - it kept getting better. My brewing skills and palate improved. Wonderful! I now have acquired and outgrown various brewing gadgets, replaced them with beautiful ($$) Japanese kyusus (pots), little Chinese yixings (also pots), woodfired items from Etsy, wonderful handmade cups and antique gaiwans and am really always itching for a new piece of teaware... sound familiar? I hadn't seen that coming. And I'm buying wonderful and various tea from excellent online vendors, reading a lot of online reviews, talking with other tea enthusiasts online, studying, loving every aspect of the delicious stuff and generally having a great time. It would be an error to say that in my heart I know I'll never get the same satisfaction that I got from coffee and that's why I'm always seeking to improve the tea experience - au contraire! It's WAY better to me. And I get my requisite caffeine (plus the L-thianine float), which was all I was initially seeking. It's become a very absorbing hobby.

Ecigs are somewhat like that for me, though quite honestly not as interesting now as they were - after 3 years I've found my happy level with juices and equipment and tho I keep my eyes open it's not as absorbing as it once was.
Just utterly satisfying.

I agree with much of what you are saying. I love vaping more than smoking and its making for a great hobby. How correct my supposition/theory is? I do not know. Perhaps it depends on the individual. Athough my conscious mind IS satisfied, there is something lingering below the level of my conscious awareness that NEEDS/wants something better. It's like, yes its good, but how can I make it even better? Some of it, for me, may be OCD related, but this "chasing the dragon" phoenomena (and forgive me for using this term, as it refers historically to opium smoking) may have to do with our addiction to nicotine/smoking. Addiction and obsession can be similar in many ways.

 

[retired1]

If, for some reason, the mod market dried up overnight and I was stuck with using my SVD for the rest of my days, I'd be happy with it (provided I could get replacements as needed!). My obsession with new items doesn't come from being disaffected or dissatisfied with what I have. It's an honest juvenile compulsion to have the neatest and greatest toys. Nothing more, nothing less.

My juice choices would fall into the same category. Although I'm always looking for another juice that tickles my taste buds, I currently have 4-6 favorites that I could easily vape for the rest of my days.

 

[RedhatPat]

You like ze juice, eh? I get you more juice! (snl skit, nevermind folks)

When smoking isn't an option anymore, vaping is easy. When smoking is still on the table, vaping becomes difficult but only at first. I had it easier than most, even though I was a 2/3 pad guy, because smoking was tearing me down and actually becoming a wedge in my relationship. But I didn't wake up one day saying I would quit Big Tobacco. I was forced by Big Tobacco to quit.

I tell ya folks, never did I appreciate vaping more than when I came off the Patch. That's when it shined on me that, "hey this could work."

Truth be told, despite what I've learned and the great folks on ECF, I'd trade it all in if I could quit nicotine cold turkey like so many folks before me. For now though, I'm happy where I am. And so is my woman

RHP

 

[soba1]

I do agree with the ritual part of smoking the big part of it for me was lighting the cigarette. But pushing the button down to vape helps with that. I used to bite down on my filter. So I may try a rubber drip tip. I did see those somewhere. But I do agree it is the ritual of smoking as well which vaping does provide. The withdrawal of all the other chemicals, not so bad now as in the beginning.

 

[bryaninaustin]

I am a freaking flavor chaser! I'll own it. I could vape maybe 5 juices and be perfectly content, except that would mean that I would have to stop shopping for juices. Why would I want to do that? I would have nothing new to sample. I wouldn't be able to share my newest find with others. I wouldn't have vape mail to look forward to. That's no fun....

Until recently I wasn't much about the hardware. I have been perfectly happy with my KR808 batteries from V4L. Imagine my joy when they came out with the Dial-a-volt! Now I just purchased the eVic. It is supposed to arrive early this week. I am already shopping for tanks. There is the Protank, the ViviNova, the eVod, the iClear, the iSmokka BBC. I think I have opened a floodgate!

That iTaste SVD looks pretty handsome, too.....

 

[LeoRex]

With the shift in focus away from nicotine buzz to flavor, vaping moves into a highly subjective area with a much wider variety, so it's a lot like food. People always can try something new and it tastes good too.

Smoking on the other hand is pretty much binary (yes I want to smoke/I'm good right now).

QFT

Exactly... vaping let's US control the experience, not the tobacco company. And people are picky SOBs.

 

[markfm]

It really is an individual thing. I've been vaping the same DIY blend 2-1/2 years, using the same carto/tank combo 2 years, bought a total of one PV in the last year. I did pick up a dbox recently, it's a nice feed system to go along with my smaller capacity normal tank setup, and my higher capacity VV bottom feeder.

I have cut my nic down to about 1/3 the concentration I started with, no rush to drop more since I do like the minor stimulant effect.

Innovation is great, but I'm pretty comfortable with what's available

 

[JayTater]

Hmmm... interesting views. Good to see people thinking and sharing those thoughts. No right or wrong here... just sharing and thought provocation.

I'm quite happy with vaping... for me, it's a different experience rather than a substitute, that I actually enjoy more than cigarettes.

I must admit, being a engineer, ex-machinist, ex-gunsmith and ex-technical instructor by trade (would that be by ex-trade?) I truly enjoy playing with RDA and RBA attys, mech mods, building "the perfect coil" and all the other little nik-noid fun things you can do with vaping accoutrements.

Cigarettes never gave me that experience... and had I known about vaping sooner, I would have bailed on butts much sooner as well. I get my hand to mouth - inhale/exhale - taste and flavor - "smoke" billowing etc etc - with the added benefit of fun toys to tinker with. ;-)

I agree 100%. Cigs never gave that "user built" experience. There have been VERY few new things or changes that have occured with the stinkies.

I'm probably not the only one here that bought a pack of Crushes when they first hit the shelves. It was something new, and our nature is to try something new, or at least ASK about that new thing.

Our problem is that the ecig industry is coming up with that "Next Big Thing" on a near daily basis. Those of us who have the tinkering addiction and funds to support it, will continue to lose the satifaction with current equipment.

Just my thoughts..

 

[HeadInClouds]

For me, it's a matter of wanting to know the available options so that I can chose favorites. I may have a satisfactory setup, but what else might I enjoy?

I did the same with cigs as much as available options allowed (non-menthol, 100s, lights, disposable lighter). But with vaping one can try or collect tanks, batteries, chargers, e-fluid flavors, drip-tips, etc. And new stuff is introduced constantly. Possible expense is also endless, so most of us must limit what we try. Some people feel deprived when limited like that.

Personally, I want different devices for home and out. Cigs didn't offer such options. I'm trying many flavors, sort of like I tried lots of cig brands years ago, and I'm sure I'll eventually narrow down my favorites. Without an endless budget, I can't try everything, but I can still sample a lot of variety.